The Home Office was strongly criticised today by the man heading the inquiry into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.

Nick Hardwick, chairman of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), said the department should stop issuing "partial information" after government officials released details about the immigration status of the 27-year-old Brazilian electrician, who was mistaken by police for a suicide bomber.

He added that people should "shut up" until his independent investigation had established the facts.

Mr De Menezes was shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder by plain clothes officers last week at Stockwell tube station after police followed him from a block of flats that had been under surveillance in Tulse Hill, south London.

Mr Hardwick's comments came after the Home Office yesterday confirmed Mr De Menezes' visa had expired and implied he had a forged stamp in his passport. Officials said a stamp appearing to give Mr De Menezes "indefinite leave to remain" in Britain had not been in use by immigration officials on the date indicated in his passport. His student visa ran out in June 2003, the Home Office confirmed.

"It's entirely irrelevant information," Mr Hardwick said today. "I'm rather surprised the Home Office should issue it. We won't be releasing partial information until we've independently established the facts.

"I think a lot of people would do better to shut up for the moment until our independent investigation has established the facts. I won't speculate and I won't release partial information and it would be better if other people did the same." Investigators from the IPCC launched a witness appeal at Stockwell station today. Around 30 investigators began handing out leaflets to passersby, appealing to them to contact the inquiry if they have any information that could be relevant.

A week on from the death of Mr De Menezes, friends and family gathered at Stockwell station today to lay more flowers in tribute to their loved one.

Three bunches of lilies were laid on a Brazilian flag at the entrance to the building and a large black and white picture of the dead man was propped up close by against the wall.

"It's a week since his death; we don't want to talk about politics, we just want to make sure he's remembered today," a friend, Alice Soares, said. "No matter what's said in the press and the future, he was a good and decent person and we need to remember him as a decent man."

Asad Rehman, spokesman for Mr De Menezes' family, said it was "distasteful and disgraceful" that the Home Office should release information about him.

A requiem mass for Mr De Menezes is being held at Westminster Cathedral today and the archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the head of the Roman Catholic church in England and Wales, will read a message.

Mr De Menezes' body arrived back in his home town of Gonzaga, in Brazil's Minas Gerais state, yesterday and his funeral is due to take place later today. The mayor, Júlio Mario de Souza, has declared a holiday in the rural town today to mark the funeral.